Update: Lucasfilm Denies New StarWars Trilogy Is in the Works

Crushing some fanboys’ dreams, Lucasfilm denied a supposed insider report Saturday that alleged George Lucas is planning to film three new Star Wars movies.

The report, published late Friday by IESB and citing an “ultra top-secret Lucasfilm insider,” claims the new trilogy would land after the planned 3-D conversion of the six Star Wars films.

“This is, of course, completely false,” Lucasfilm spokesman Josh Kushins told Wired.com in an e-mail Saturday about the report. “George Lucas has plenty of projects to keep him busy right now — including plenty of Star Wars projects — but there are no new Star Wars feature films planned.”

On message boards, sci-fi fans — stung by rumors like this in the past, as well as by changes to the original Star Wars films over the years — discussed the plausibility of a new trilogy.

“Obviously it’s a rumor, but [IESB] must have heard it somewhere and are only reporting what they hear,” wrote ObiWanJedi93 on TheForce.net’s Star Wars community board. “I, personally, would love to see another trilogy, so long as it doesn’t overlook everything that has happened post-[Return of the Jedi], like the Thrawn trilogy/Legacy of the Force/Fate of the Jedi.”

Both the IESB website and the official Star Wars forums were experiencing technical problems Saturday afternoon, possibly due to overwhelming interest in the rumor.

Wired.com’s original mention of IESB’s report follows:

Quoting an “ultra top-secret Lucasfilm insider,” IESB reports that George Lucas is planning to roll out a new Star Wars trilogy after the six original films have been converted into 3-D.

“George Lucas is plotting to create new Star Wars movies at the ultra top-secret Skywalker Ranch,” the entertainment news site says. “This is deja vu of the mid ’90s when Uncle George [started] tweaking the Holy Trilogy to gear up for the Special Editions.”

IESB’s anonymous source says the films probably would be set in the Star Wars universe but would not focus on the Skywalker family.

“Too early for story details but one thing that our source is certain about, they will not be prequels but instead sequels,” IESB says. “It’s not for certain if they will be the long-awaited Episodes 7, 8 and 9 but could instead be Episodes 10, 11 and 12 or possibly even further out in the Star Wars timeline. And by giving space in the timeline, possibly even as far as 100 years or 1,000 years in the Star Wars universe future, Lucas avoids having to make these stories ‘fit in’ with what the previous stories have told.”

The unconfirmed report says the new trilogy, which ideally would hit theaters within two years of the 3-D re-release of the first six Star Wars movies, would have nothing to do with the live-action Star Wars television show that’s in development.

Wired.com has contacted Lucasfilm in an attempt to confirm or deny IESB’s report, but it’s the weekend — and Lucasfilm is secretive, for obvious reasons — so don’t hold your breath. In the meantime, read IESB’s story for all the murky details: “The Line Starts Here … Again! New Star Wars Movies Planned”

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